The iconic photo of Greg Best and Gem Twist at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Photo by Tish Quirk
Gladys, Va.- April 29, 2024- The Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) is pleased to announce that Greg Best will be inducted into the IHSA Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place during the National Championship at Tryon International Equestrian Center on Saturday, May 4. The IHSA Hall of Fame inducted its first members in 2020, and the second class will include coaches, founders, riders and horses. Watch your inbox and social media for announcements of additional honorees to follow.
Born in Lynchburg, Va., Best was introduced to riding by his mother. He showed panache in the hunter ring, and as a teenager, started to train with Frank Chapot.
Best attended the University of Pennsylvania, which was where he was introduced to the IHSA.
“My senior year, some horse enthusiasts started the [IHSA] program at Penn,” said Best. “It took a group of somewhat socially awkward horse kids at university and gave us a really neat commonality that we were all pretty excited to be a part of.”
Although the team was late to the IHSA scene that year, Best managed to get the points he needed for a bid to Nationals in only three shows.
“I remember getting up at the crack of dawn, driving to horse shows four hours away. It was such a great thing to be part of a group that we were all passionate about,” recalled Best. “When I headed to Nationals [held that year at the Barracks in Virginia], a lot of my team came with me for support."
“That year I was also competing against [fellow Olympians] Peter Wylde and Beezie Patton,” he added.
It was through the six-time Olympian Chapot that Best, in his young 20s, got the ride on GemTwist. The grey Thoroughbred gelding was young too–just 6 years old when he and Best won the 1985 USET Talent Derby. In 1987, the pair was victorious in their first two grand prix appearances: the Grand Prix of Tampa and the Grand Prix of Florida, and from there, their success took them to the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, where they were part of the silver medal-winning U.S. team.
At ages 24 and 8 respectively, Best and Gem Twist returned home from the 1988 Seoul [Korea] Olympic Games as the individual and team show jumping silver medalists. Two years later, they placed fourth at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, Sweden.
About the IHSA, Best chuckled, “Among other things, it certainly taught a lot of us about humility–the luck of the draw.
“More importantly, it helped us, I think this is true for a lot of kids–horse people spend a lot of time being antisocial because we spent a lot of time at the barn,” Best said.“Being part of IHSA...it gives you that sense of belonging.”
Now a resident of New Zealand for 30 years, Best lives with his wife and children near Hastings.